International Public Administration Reform Implications for the Russian Federation

by Manning, Nick; Parison, Neil

• ISBN13: 9780821355725
• ISBN10: 0821355724
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-15
• Publisher: World Bank Publications

Summary

This book examines public administration reform experiences and outcomes in a range of countries over the last ten to fifteen years, and offers commentary and analusis that are particularly relevant to the Russian Federation.The analysis starts with what was broken; and then moves on to assess what reformers actually did and what they achieved and why reformers faced with similar problems in different countries in fact did very different things.The conclusion is that the level and type of reform activity was determined primarily by the degree of traction available to reformers - the leverage available to reformers and the malleability of basic public sector institutions. In some countries reformers had considerable leverage and were able to launch comprehensive reform programs relatively quickly. In other countries with low traction and with comparatively complex constitutional arrangements for public sector architecture, implementing public administration reform appears to be particularly problematic. A number of practical suggestions for approaches to implementing public administration reform are then identified for policy makers and reformers in low traction countries such as the Russian Federation.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Abbreviations and Acronyms	p. xi
Executive Summary	p. xiii
The Countries Selected	p. 1
Reformers' Concerns: What Was Broken?	p. 6
What Did They Want to Do?	p. 6
Reducing Public Expenditure	p. 6
Improving Policy Responsiveness and Implementation	p. 7
Improving Government as Employer	p. 8
Improving Service Delivery and Building Public and Private Sector Confidence	p. 9
Mapping Reformers' Concerns	p. 10
Notes	p. 12
Reformers' Activities: What Did They Do?	p. 13
The General Picture	p. 13
The Ingredients of Public Sector Reform	p. 13
"Basic" Reforms: Achieving or Strengthening Discipline	p. 16
"Advanced" Reforms	p. 19
Choices in Advanced Reforms	p. 25
Coherence of Reforms	p. 28
The Level of Reform Activity	p. 29
Notes	p. 32
Reformers' Achievements: What Did They Gain?	p. 33
Results Are Difficult to Determine	p. 33
Reductions in Public Expenditure	p. 34
Efficiency Improvements	p. 36
Other Gains	p. 37
Unintended Consequences	p. 37
Notes	p. 40
Reformers' Traction: Why Did They Do Different Things?	p. 41
A Model for Explaining Reform Activities	p. 41
Points of Leverage	p. 42
Institutional Malleability	p. 43
Mapping Reformers' Traction	p. 44
Explaining Patterns of Reform	p. 44
Notes	p. 46
The Challenge for Low-Traction Reformers: How to Achieve Basic Reforms	p. 47
A Dilemma Facing Low-Traction Reformers	p. 47
Seizing Opportunities in Basic Public Expenditure Management Reforms	p. 48
Seizing Opportunities in Civil Service Personnel Management Reforms	p. 49
Seizing Opportunities in Reforming the Organizational Structure of the Executive	p. 50
Seizing Opportunities in Changing the Role and Policy Load Carried by Government	p. 51
Lessons from Low-Traction Countries Needing Basic Reforms	p. 51
Implications for the Russian Federation	p. 54
Realism and Managed Expectations	p. 54
First Things First	p. 54
Create More Traction	p. 55
Seize Opportunities	p. 56
Create Opportunities	p. 58
In Looking for Useful Experiences, Look for the Like-Minded	p. 59
Notes	p. 59
Appendixes
Summaries of Individual Country Reform Experiences	p. 62
Reformers' Concerns: Methodological Note	p. 77
Points of Leverage for Reformers: Methodological Note	p. 84
Institutional Malleability: Methodological Note	p. 88
Glossary	p. 92
References	p. 106
Index	p. 108
Boxes
Australian Reform Concerns	p. 7
Reform Activities in China	p. 14
Reform Activities in Canada	p. 15
Associating Performance Information with the Budget in the United States	p. 18
Senior Executive Services in Australia, Hungary, and New Zealand	p. 19
Advanced Accounting Reforms in the Netherlands	p. 20
Budget Reform Activities in Finland	p. 21
The Civil Service in New Zealand--An Unusual Case	p. 22
Reform Activities in Brazil	p. 24
Decentralization in Poland	p. 25
Contractual Arrangements within the U.K. Public Sector	p. 27
Reform Activities in Chile	p. 29
Australian Reform Activities	p. 30
Program Review in Canada	p. 35
Mixed Signals on Australian Efficiency Savings	p. 36
Mixed Reform Outcomes in the United Kingdom	p. 39
Unintended Consequences in the Netherlands	p. 40
Reform Management in New Zealand and the Republic of Korea	p. 56
Dispersed Reform Management in Canada	p. 57
Stronger Central Agency in Finland	p. 84
Cabinet Office in Australia	p. 85
Majority Government in Canada	p. 86
Organizational Heterogeneity in Brazil	p. 87
Federalism in Canada	p. 88
The Civil Service and the German Administrative Tradition	p. 90
Tables
Size of the Country and the Economy Relative to the Russian Federation	p. 2
Fiscal Decentralization	p. 4
Measures of Governance	p. 4
Reformers' Concerns	p. 11
The Elements of Basic and Advanced Reforms	p. 26
Reform Activities	p. 31
Reformers' Traction	p. 45
Figures
General Government Employment as Percentage of Total Employment	p. 3
Breadth of Reformers' Concerns	p. 12
Two Stages in Public Sector Reform	p. 16
Overall Reform Activity	p. 30
A Model for Explaining Reform Differences	p. 42
Reformers' Traction and Reform Activity	p. 46
Russia's Reformers in Context	p. 59
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